The first live meeting of the complete Solamente naturali ensemble within the One Music project took place in the Evangelical Church in Bratislava’s Petržalka, where the ensemble had already found the background and favour for a close cooperation in the past during the realization of the second title within the new UMA recordings. The meeting lasted between 27-29 October 2022.
The gradual fingering of new compositions and old tunes always brings with it anticipation at the beginning and, with musicians, the typical shyness and modesty. The selection of compositions for the project is extensive, many of which will serve as background material in concerts for children and students, where it is easy to demonstrate how to bring these old known-unknown melodies and dances to light as a memory trace of a long-vanished history. The players invited to participate in this project are not chosen at random. Each brings with him or her a distinctive mastery of his or her field. Kristína Chalmovská is a solo cellist, equally proficient in modern and baroque cello Her repertoire is therefore incredibly extensive, ranging from early music to modern music, often written directly for her. Janko Kružliak Jr. is a unique phenomenon in his generation, so his multi-genre range and ability to play and improvise on multiple instruments-acoustic and electronic-in a program such as One Music is a great asset and inspiration to other musicians as well. Jan Rokyta, who plays the dulcimer and classical and folk wind instruments, is one of the world’s top players, both as a player and with his arrangements of old tunes from Central Europe, some of which will be heard in this programme. Violist Peter Vrbinčík is one of the driving forces behind the whole project. His experience in the field of early, classical and folk music gives him a wide scope for variation within the harmonic construction of the whole project. The genres change rapidly between each other, which requires a great deal of experience in terms of style as well as a new orginal sonority in the interpretation of the composers’ pieces. Miloš Valent and Bjarte Eike, as long-time friends, were at the birth of the idea of One Music. They understand each other both humanly and musically, and this spirit of making music together is something they naturally try to transfer to their colleagues they have chosen for the project.
